Fencepost



1. A. FITCHAND F. c. SHEA. I

FENCEPOST APPLICATION FILED FEB,l6,192I.

n'ni

INVENTOR.

man/ W M 1 2" 677m ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 22, 1922.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JASON A. FITCH AND FRED C. SHEA, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.

FENCEPOST.

T aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that we, JASON A. FITCH and FRED C. SHEA, citizens of the l nited States, residing, at Youngstown. in the county of Mahonlng and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in F enceposts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metal fenceposts,the object being to provide a post of varying degrees of strength throughout its length, so distributed, however, as'to afford the necessary power of resistance at all points in the post without the use of unnecessary metal, thus attaining the utmost limit of economy in manufacture.

The greatest strain. upon a fence-post, of course, is at the ground, and the strain gradually decreases towards the top.

We are, of course, well aware of the fact that metal fence-posts of open or hollow formation in cross-section ,are not new, and fully realize that the only distinction between our post and that covered by Patent No. 1,226,602 issued to R. A. Selway under date of May 15, 1917, resides in the fact that we gradually reduce or eliminate the reinforcing V shaped or open formation frombottom to top, thereby materially reducing the amount of metal required for manu-- facture, but without sacrifice of necessary strength at any point in the post.

Figure 1 is a front elevation with strands of wire secured.

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are cross-sections on lines 2-2, 33 and 4-4, respectively, of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an outline of the plain blank or sheet of metal from which the post is formed.

Specification of Letters Patent. t t A 22, 9

Application filed February 16, 1921.

Serial No. 445,331.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view. partially 1n section, on line 66, Figure 2.

Like reference characters designate correspondlng parts throughout the various figures of the drawings.

P, Figures 1,2. 3 and 4. represent a post formed by bending or turning a strip of sheet metal upon itself along its longitudinal center from the bottom a substantially throughout its length, and then turning each edge of the strip out to form oppositely disposed engaging flanges f f, the depth or extent of the first or central bend, however, being gradually diminished from top to bottom, until, at the upper end, the flanges f'f,

which run of substantially uniform width throughout the length of the post, are joined by the substantially straight section or web w. The flanges f-f are provided with suit able holes'or perforations h to receive the wire securing elements.

We claim:

A fence-post formed from a tapering blank of sheetmetal, and provided with a reinforcing bend along its longitudinal cen ter substantially the full length of the post, -the extent or depth of the bend, however, belng gradually diminished from bottom to substantially zero point at top,each edge of said strip being provided with an engaging flange.

In testimony whereof we hereunto aflixed our signatures in the presence of two Witnesses.

JASON A. FITCH. FRED C. SHEA.

Witnesses ALICE MGGINN, JoHN A. FITHIAN. 

